


Safe Zones

by xantissa



Series: Carnival of Rust [32]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Plot, Porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 10:52:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5045506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xantissa/pseuds/xantissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim wasn’t fool enough to think this thing between them would mean Khan would trust him, but it didn’t stop him from hoping that Khan would share something at least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe Zones

**Author's Note:**

> So I have been busy lately. I have not abandoned this story though. It’s actually planned to the very end. So far 41 is the last part in this series with a big reveal. At least two more missing scenes and that will be it, boys and girls.  
> In other news, I am writing two collaborations with NurseDarry in Star Trek fandom (one is hot like burning I promise, the other will be THE AU of this fandom) - expect something before the end of the year. I will try to end Carnival this year too so, wish me luck. First will be under 20k the second though, it might get to novel lenght. Easily :)

The wall sex wouldn't even be here if [NurseDarry ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NurseDarry)didn't make some pretty awesome pleading eyes at me.

 

 

Kirk started talking a soon as the door to Khan’s quarters hissed open.

 

“Khan, do something about that horrid woman before I have a mutiny on my hands!”

 

Khan was sitting behind the small desk, eyes glued to one data PADD while he was taking notes on another one without looking at it. His posture was as stiff and formal as ever, but there was a certain distracted air to him Kirk wasn’t expecting.

 

He wasn’t expecting the way Khan reached to switch off the workstation without looking at him at all.

 

“In just a few of days she managed to piss off half the crew and terrify the other. Bones is locked in Medbay and threatening to stay there until something is done with that… woman!”

 

Khan put away the PADD, still not looking at Jim.

 

“Are you even listening to me?” Jim demanded, incensed.

 

Khan looked very close to rolling his eyes.

 

“Yes.” He reached for the hem of his shirt and said pulled it off in one sinfully fluid movement. “Scarlet will tire of tormenting the crew eventually. Just wait her out.” With those words he let the shirt fall to the floor.

 

Jim watched him toe off his shoes and felt his throat go dry.

 

Khan reached around the captain and activated the door’s locking mechanism.

 

“Wha..?” Jim choked out, backing up against it in surprise.

 

Khan reached for the waistband of his pants and started opening them, casting a curious, weighing glance on Jim.

 

“It’s all right.” Khan’s voice lowered to that impossible, velvety rumble and Jim couldn’t take his eyes away from the way his biceps tensed and flexed when he worked on opening his trousers. “You don’t have to take off your clothes if you don’t want to.”

 

“Um,” Jim answered eloquently as Khan approached him with that predatory air he was so good at. Khan simply leaned forward and kissed him, as if they’d planned this and as if Jim was that easy that he would roll over for Khan at the slightest provocation. The longer he let Khan kiss him, the more obvious it became that yes, he very much would.

 

Jim opened up to the Augment, enjoying the feel of that smooth, silky skin under the palms of his hands, the sharply defined muscles under that skin he could feel when he slid his hands up those powerful arms.

 

“Turn around,” Khan murmured into his ear, the heavy body of the Augment pressing into Jim in all the right places, surrounding him with scent and heat of the older man.

 

Jim wasn’t an idiot, nor was he blind. He could clearly see something wasn’t right. Khan was both more distant and more tactile than ever. Jim could sense something wrong from Khan, something the man kept hidden. Jim wasn’t fool enough to think this thing between them would mean Khan would trust him, but it didn’t stop him from hoping that Khan would share _something_ at least.

 

Khan didn’t share, but he touched Jim and that would have to be enough for now.

 

Jim turned in the circle of the Augment’s arms and braced himself on the wall, Khan’s intent coming through loud and clear. This was not going to be a slow, careful bout of lovemaking he could tell already. Khan had that sense of banked violence to him, that intent that send goosebumps down Jim’s neck. The Augment rarely allowed himself enough leeway to show the more primal sides of his character, too caught up in his own image. Every time he did, Jim got a kick out if though. Feeling Khan press his face into his neck and inhale long and slow, caressing Jim’s skin with just the air he breathed, was enough to get him hard. Jim murmured encouragement as he felt Khan’s hands slip over the waistband of his pants, open them and push them down just enough to grant himself access.

 

He heard Khan move away for a moment and pressed his suddenly-heated forehead to the cold wall. There was a rustle, and then a click of a cap he recognized as a bottle of lube Khan got from god only knew where. He had the uncomfortable feeling Bones was involved, but did his very best _not_ to think about it.

 

Khan came back, plastering his naked, warm chest all along Jim’s back, using one hand to brace himself against the wall just inches from Jim, caging him between his heavy body and the wall. When Jim felt the touch of fingers covered with cold lube between his cheeks, he jumped. Khan had the gall to chuckle at him, even as he pushed two fingers in all the way at once. Going up on his toes, arching away from the sudden invasion, Jim bit his lip before exhaling slowly and sinking back again, impaling himself deeper.

 

“Bastard,” he muttered as he felt Khan move his fingers, thrusting them and curling, preparing Jim with a bit more haste than usual. The truth was that thanks to the leftover enhancement to his healing caused by Khan’s blood, Jim had indulged in anal sex in recent months without any limits. It was almost easy, to just spread his legs and push back as Khan lined himself up, sinking in with one long push. It knocked the breath right out of Jim, the first push already sliding right over his prostate, stretching him perfectly. Their bodies were more in synch than with any of his previous lovers. Even later, Jim couldn’t tell just what got him turned on more: the feeling of that rigidly hard cock pushing its way inside him or the _sound_ Khan made behind him.

 

The hand that was braced on the wall slid down to grip Jim’s hip in a tight, possessive hold that instead of irritating the blond, only excited him more. The other hand, still wet with lube, closed over Jim’s own erection. Khan’s grip was no-nonsense, the large hand covering most of the engorged organ, and jerking him off in steady, tight pulls.

 

It didn't take long, the long drag of Khan’s cock pulling out and the stretch of him pushing in, always right over Jim’s prostate, coupled with the wicked way Khan was jerking Jim off had him coming in minutes with a muffled groan. It left him panting, sweaty, and almost oozing down the wall. The only thing holding him up was Khan’s hand on his hip, grip bruising tight. Now that Jim had already come, Khan was obviously focusing on his own pleasure, just pounding into the captain, hips colliding with Jim’s with enough force to punch out half-choked groans from the captain. Khan stilled and spilled himself into Jim with one tightly controlled moan, just as oversensitivity was on the verge of turning into pain.

 

Panting into Jim’s neck, Khan pulled out much more carefully than he’d pushed in. they both hissed when they separated, the sensation half-pain, half-pleasure; mostly just too much.

 

Shifting his stance, Khan pressed a bit harder against Jim, and pressed his fingers back along the oversensitive flesh of Jim’s hole. He didn’t try to push in, but just ran his fingertips over the small furl of swollen skin, simply touching. It made something in Jim’s chest turn over and _clench_.

 

“Come back later,” Khan murmured into his neck, his cheek. “I will lick you until you beg.”

 

Jim squeezed his eyes closed, exhaling loudly as his spent cock made a hopeful twitch.

 

_Such a bastard._

 

As Jim left Khan’s quarter, he didn’t even try to pretend he wouldn’t be back after his shift.

 

 

*        *        *

 

 

“Mr. Spock, is keeping Kirk as your captain worth your keeping a secret from him?” Ao wasn’t sure what to do. He wished he could just tell the man sorry and be done with it, as he _was_ genuinely sorry for causing him harm. It wasn’t just his life at stake though, and he would do anything in his power to make sure they carried out their plan, especially now when there were so few of them left.

 

Spock leaned forward, his sharp eyes boring into Ao.

 

“Vulcan’s do not lie.”

 

Turin smiled slowly, catching on to the game.

 

“No, but they don’t necessarily tell the whole truth either, do they?”

 

The Vulcan folded his hands in his lap like a prim schoolgirl.

 

“I am listening.”

 

It was as good as an admission and Ao hoped like hell the Vulcan had guts enough to follow through.

 

“The Augments’ physiology allows not only for healing, but for regeneration of missing limbs. I guess your doctor already discovered this much.” Spock nodded, so Turin continued, eager to get to the point. “So far, Kirk’s body is rejecting the new growth because it no longer recognises that something should be there at all. Khan, with my help, can teach Kirk’s brain to accept and even aid in the regeneration. We need your help though, because the human brain is different than an Augment’s and we need someone to guide us, and monitor Kirk at the same time.”

 

Spock stared at him for a long moment, his dark eyes flickering gently in thought.

 

“Why you?” Spock asked suddenly, and damn it, the Vulcan was sharp to notice that little detail. “Khan already has a mental bond with the captain. What are you needed for?”

 

Ao took a steadying breath.

 

“Khan can’t influence Kirk that way, can’t force his brain to overwrite its structures.”

 

Spock leaned back in his chair, eyes unerringly fixed on Ao.

 

“But you can.”

 

It wasn’t a question, so Ao didn’t bother to reply.

 

“You are a telepath,” Spock concluded. “A powerful one if you can actually perform something like this.”

 

The blond waited; the Vulcan was obviously already well on track.

 

“That begs the question why we would need Khan at all then? If you are so much more powerful telepathically than him --”

 

Fuck, but the Vulcan was sharp. Ao couldn’t wait to see what would happen when Scarlett realised it.

 

“You can’t do it because you are not an Augment at all,” Spock said, obviously lining up facts in that head of his, adding up two and two and, sadly for Turin, coming up with four.

 

Ao looked him right in the eye and let the tattoos on his arms move and reform, bulging out briefly, leaving his skin to twist in the air like tendrils of shadow before sinking into his flesh again, becoming nothing more than decorative markings.

 

“No, but I’m damn good at emulating them,” he agreed.

 

He was going to strangle Khan for making him do this, really, he was.

 

“Let’s not misunderstand each other here,” Turin warned softly, letting the carefully cultivated guise of humanity slip a little. “This knowledge? You will keep to yourself no matter what you decide about Kirk.”

 

Turin made sure to lock his eyes with Spock.

 

“I’ve already punched through your mental shields once and was even able to memory of that event away. I don’t have to threaten you to keep you silent. I could make you just as easily. Still, I would prefer if we could come to an agreement.”

 

He could see Spock didn’t believe him, the furrow between his brows deepening sharply as he tried to place when Turin might have had a chance to do as he’d said.

 

“You must have noticed your shields were strained. I tried to fix as much damage as I could before withdrawing, but I was too worried about Khan to be as thorough as I could have been.”

 

Spock’s lips twisted.

 

“Is this how you treat allies? Threaten them with the most intimate kind of violence if they don’t do as you like?”

 

There was something shaken, almost bitter in the Vulcan’s voice, and Turin wondered for a moment if the Vulcan really cared that much.

 

“Too many died for me to hesitate any more. The stakes are too high already, but Khan is insistent that Kirk be saved. He wants the captain to stay a captain. I have no idea what happened between those two, but Khan doesn’t want to cause _harm_ to Kirk. I don’t think you understand the full meaning of that, considering what humans did to his family.”

 

Spock sat rigidly in his chair, all outward signs of fear already hidden. Ao had to respect that, even if he wished the Vulcan was easier to read.

 

“How much time do I have to decide?”

 

“None. It’s now or never.” Turin wanted the man’s word now, before he had the chance to think things through and plan a trap. He could wipe him, break his mind as easily as he could his body, but he didn’t _want_ to. Spock seemed like a good man. A bit young and naiive, but that was a fault that touched many. There was a clear straightforwardness about him. Something Ao felt should be protected. Besides, he’s been tired of violence for a long while now.

 

“When would it take place?”

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

Turin saw the capitulation in Spock’s eyes even before the Vulcan nodded.

 

“Very well. I accept your terms.”

 

Very sharp, Spock had already realised Turin was the biggest and most immediate threat, as he wasn’t bound to obey Khan the way the others were.

 

With a nod, Turin turned to leave. There was no use angering the man further with his presence.

 

Ao exhaled loudly as the door behind him closed.

 

“It makes one wonder, just what were you doing in Mr. Spock’s quarters?” The voice was molasses slow, low and velvety, and filled with undisguised dislike.

 

“Scarlett,” Turin greeted with a sigh. Just his luck that she would track him down when he was already wrung out. Sometimes he could swear that woman could sniff out weakness from a mile away. “A pleasure to see you.”

 

“I very much doubt it,” she parried, falling into step beside him.

 

She’d never liked him, not from the first moment she’d laid her eyes on him. He never quite got her to tell him _why_.

 

“Khan is acting oddly, even more so than usual, and you are curiously unhappy about something,” she pressed.

 

“It’s not your business Scarlett, let it go please.”

 

She tilted her head. She’d always stayed out of immediate arm's reach of him. He wondered if it was natural dislike of physical contact, or if she knew more about him than he thought.

 

“Our mission is coming along well, despite the losses on our side. What has you so agitated Turin?” she asked again, obviously unhappy at not being in the loop.

 

Scarlett stopped suddenly. The move so jarring, Turin stopped too and turned to look at her.

 

She had a thoughtful look on her face.

 

“Ah,” she said eloquently and Ao ground his teeth together. He _hated_ it when she had those little epiphanies of hers. “He should be allowed to keep what he wants, for once,” she said slowly, her voice low and velvety, betraying nothing of what she felt. If she felt anything at all.

 

Ao looked at the beautiful, _strange_ woman. Physically she was stunning, but her personality was so off-putting, Ao could never understand how Khan could ever stand her, much less love her before. Even now, years later, they were close, an oddly antagonistic friendship binding them. Scarlett didn't care about their mission, disliked most of the other Augments, outright hated Turin, felt nothing but contempt for humans, and yet here she was, still following, still looking out for Khan.

 

“He can’t yet, Scarlett. There’s too much at stake,” Ao murmured quietly, taken aback by the seriousness in her expression.

 

She blanked her expression and nodded, her eyes sweeping past him without showing if she agreed with Ao or not.

 

Without further discussion, she turned on her heel and left in the opposite direction, dismissing Turin completely.

 

 

*        *        *

 

“How much do you care about saving your leg?” Khan’s voice was oddly flat, the tone betraying none of his thoughts.

 

The question was so far out of left field, Kirk turned to look at Khan incredulously. That was a truly inspired choice of pillow talk.

 

“What the hell?” Jim asked finally, sitting up in bed and looking at the Augment who still lay on his back, relaxed as you please, one arm under his head, and staring at the ceiling.

 

“Answer the question, Kirk.”

 

Jim pulled his healthy leg up and leaned his elbow on his knee, trying to figure out where this was all going.

 

“I couldn’t care less about the leg!” he exploded. “Wait, that’s not true. Of course I care about saving my leg! I would give a fucking lot to have it back, whole and healthy!”

 

He stopped to take a breath. There was no use yelling at Khan, it never worked anyway. “Truth is, I could have Bones fit me with a prosthetic right this moment, if not for one thing. To be a captain of a Constitution class exploration vessel, I need to have a fitness ranking A. If, by the time my next physical comes, I have a prosthetic, my ranking will automatically fall to category B. Because I was in active service at the time of my injury, I would be automatically promoted. It means that by the next physical, the Enterprise would have a new captain and I would end up behind a desk somewhere. It’s not something either of us can afford right now,” Jim said bitterly. “I would give up a lot more than just a foot to keep the _Enterprise_ ,” he whispered, rubbing at his aching eyes.

 

Whatever afterglow he’d felt before was gone now. Great, a fucking great choice for an after-sex conversation.

 

Only then did Khan look at Jim, his face blank and controlled in a way Jim neither liked nor trusted. The fact that he couldn’t feel anything from the Augment wasn’t helping any.

 

“I might have a way to fix it,” Khan admitted slowly.

 

Jim snorted, unwilling to let hope blind him again.

 

“Your last idea didn’t pan out. What makes you think this one will?” Jim shot back before reminding himself that it wasn’t Khan’s fault; all the man had done was save his life. Everything else was much more than he ever expected of the Augment.

 

“This one will.” Khan sounded so sure of himself, so unhesitating. It pissed Jim off, how sure of his capabilities the Augment was, how unflinching, even in the face of his failures.

 

Jim exhaled loudly and flopped back onto the bed, also staring at the ceiling. Maybe it held some kind of forbidden knowledge he was unaware of.

 

“So what’s the catch?” Jim asked, still resolutely keeping his eyes on the ceiling. “Because there is one, right?”

 

“There are certain requirements that must be met, and they are not…certain yet.”

 

“What requirements?” Jim couldn’t remember the last time when Khan had been so vague about anything. It was like pulling teeth.

 

“It would require your Mr Spock, Dr McCoy, Ao, and me to cooperate very closely during an extremely innovative procedure.”

 

Jim furrowed his brows.

 

“How innovative?”

 

“As in ‘never been tried before’,” Khan admitted, still staring at the ceiling.

 

Jim took some time to digest the response. If he was honest with himself, he already knew he would agree to it because he wasn’t going to just lie down and lose the ship. And no matter how much or how little they trusted each other, Khan probably knew Jim well enough to know that already. So the problem lay elsewhere.

 

“Spock and Bones might not love each other, but they work well together. And while they might not like the idea of experimenting on me, they know me well enough to realize I’d do it anyway, so they’ll probably agree just to keep an eye on me,” Jim said wryly. “As I understand it, your crew does what you tell them to, so what’s the problem?”

 

Jim had a strangest feeling that from the corner of his eye, he’d caught Khan wincing, but when he turned to look, the Augment’s face was blank again.

 

“The problem is Ao and Spock. Mr. Spock might not agree to working with Ao.”

 

“What happened?” Jim demanded, sitting up again, shocked that he hadn’t noticed any kind of conflict.

 

“That is between them to settle. If Mr Spock wants to tell you, that’s his right.” Khan sounded very final, clearly unwilling to give more information on the subject. It didn’t worry Jim too much, he could always hunt down Spock for details.

 

“And that’s the end of those requirements you mentioned?”

 

There was a flash of something almost like regret through the bond before Khan clamped down ruthlessly on it.

 

“Nothing that’s your concern.”

 

The end.


End file.
